Child Psychologists and Child Therapists in West Palm Beach, FL.

Monica Buttafava’s primary therapy expertise is working with toddlers, children, adolescents, and their families. Monica has been closely working with children and families in the field of mental health since 1996. She uses age-appropriate creative and expressive methods to give every individual an outlet to process their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Psychotherapy for young children provides a safe environment where children can receive support, learn new ways to resolve problems, and begin to make positive, long-lasting changes to their lives. For more information visit: https://monicabuttafavapsychotherapy.com/overview

Although it’s a hard pill to swallow, I’ve found that young children often display anxiety, disobedience, and other problem-behaviors because they are absorbing chaos within the home... often because the parents haven’t dealt with their own issues. This isn’t a judgment. Parenting is tough. But if you’re looking for someone to “fix” your kid, I’m not your guy. However, if you’re open to parent coaching, and willing to work on individual healing and/or strengthening your marriage, I’m here to help. At Lion Counseling, our mission is to help you escape the cages that hold you back and become the lion God created you to be.

Many times, child therapists overdo the family system in their quest to seek effective solutions for emotional, learning or behavioral concerns with young children. And many times doctors overpathologize issues that shouldn’t be medicated necessarily. This leaves parents wondering what is the best route for their child? Introducing brainwave optimization technology. A fast, effective, natural, and less expensive way to allow your child's brain to make the optimizing changes it desires to make---on its own! Without any external force, opinion, medication, diagnostic, etc. Contact kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.

Dr. Kelsey completed specialized training in pediatrics and is also certified as a school psychologist. She has worked for over 15 years with children and teens. Her team also includes several excellent therapists who also love working in this area. Teen therapy is often conducted by our board-certified DBT clinician who helps teens work on emotional regulation and learning to feel positive control over their emotions, which increases confidence and positive self-esteem! Child therapy is often a combination of skills training, and activities that feel playful and help us children to understand themselves better. We also complete full psychological assessments (ASD/ADHD, dyslexia, etc!)

So many child behavior and parenting problems simply vanish, once we understand a few basics. Children are not small adults, and should not be expected to respond the way adults do. Children, like everyone else, respond beautifully to praise, love and reward. By contrast, punishment creates only resentment and the motivation to not get caught. All the particulars flow from these simple truths. Even the most defiant and disrespectful children can quickly come around, if we simply pay a little more attention to connecting praise and rewards to desirable behavior, and withholding them for unwanted behavior.

As a father of 7, I’ve experienced firsthand the blessings and challenges of every age and stage of raising kids. In my online work with younger kids, I use curiosity, encouragement, fun, and humor to build rapport. Once the relationship is established, opportunities emerge to go deeper. And during the healing process, I work closely with parents.